O holy XCL, thou hath returned to grant us more joy, tears, fights, defeats and victories to indulge ourselves in and boy does it seem long ago since Armanno Abbiati blasted Högsbo United to victory in last season’s competition. The good news is RDS’ men are back this time around to defend their crown too, but among them are 31 other bidding rivals hoping to usurp Högsbo from their kingly position as XCL Champions and here I shall briefly summarize where every team is from and there opening TTT score, of course all the reports and interviews from most and every manager will be found under the articles section of the Xpert Daily from the last 3 months and I advise anyone that wants to peer deeply into the success of that team, to access it from that page.

From thePro League: We have continental Europe represented abundantly here, Jobhulsbosch to my knowledge is perhaps only the first or second Dutch manager to enter the top five managers globally but it is his counterpart HKD and his New Handyman II (73.009) side which enter this season’s competition as Pro League Champions to make their debut XCL appearance in Group E. They’re joined by a Romanian, Rapidistii, whose A.S. Feleacu (61.282) side boast a squad with such promising talent that the overall strength of the side is five skill bars lower than their fellow Pro Leaguers, the Pro League Cup Champs have been drawn in the so-called ‘joker group F’ in this season’s XCL – usually a right reserved for Group G. Pro League average TTT score: 67.146.

The Super League is usually a home of the Romanian Elite but we have to cross the Indian Ocean to meet the Super League Winners, AriGold and his ‘The Magic’ (57.193) side who are quite depleted in options but nevertheless the Australian will be looking to improve on his side’s wooden spoon the first and last time they were in the competition from Group D. Realgalacticos (79.694) return to the competition after a dismal time last season when they only reached the second round, managed by a manager sporting his clubs name who will be in the healthy Group A and start as one of the favourites to lift the trophy. Super League average TTT score: 68.444.

The Major League is usually the least successful original Swedish League around but they produce the first double winners of the contest, Wiguel who’s Portuguese and his OnePiece (69.291) side will be looking to add to their trophy haul with a dynamic treble here. They galvanize in Group G whilst RIO (72.926) who are a Division 3 side join the competition as beaten finalists in the Major League Cup to OnePiece, Andyman90 being the first Swede to enter the fray, how about it – also nestling in Group E. Pro League average TTT score: 71.109.

The Ultimate League hasn’t been so ultimate recently but Cormorans F.C. (78.240) aim to put a stop to that, embarking on an adventure from Group G, the Champions will hope they can qualify with relative ease. The Atletico Llamedos (67.784) also return after their fanatic cup run last season and Cyprus is the first of many managers from our very own United Kingdom to make it to this stage, they’ll have to qualify from Group C though in which to do it. Ultimate League average TTT score: 73.012.

The League of Champs used to be the place of everything holy but now it seems as washed down as the Major League. Vikingarnas BK (58.295) will be hoping they can uplift the Swedish contingent out of the tough Group H, their manager hailing from Sweden too while another fine old Englishman, Cfcrule69, will again be put through his paces with his Fists of FISO (76.884) team who have seized the lucky draw of Group F and will hopefully do the LoC proud. League of Champs average TTT score: 67.590.

The Xtreme is another place lacking of success in recent seasons so it’s timely that their best hope for seasons in SuperSprint and Dream Pilots (70.511) should enter their first XCL bout here. They are representing the Xtreme in Group B with a Norwegian just to add to the glitz and widespread variety of nationalities in this competition. One countries name that never fails to pop up though is Sweden and Van_Helsing’s Racing Forstäppan (59.927) are back after a tantalizing display they put in the Group G wizardry group a couple of seasons ago, they’ll be in Group H to showcase their skills this time out though. Xtreme League average TTT score: 65.219.

Now my own favourite, the Golden League who haven’t breached success themselves in a long, long while but they do have their first ever Swedish winner of the big time, MagnusGbg and his Angered Ghettostars (74.232) who knowing their scoring record will be a hit for the Golden League this time out I’d say in Group C. The other team were led to the XCL by a Swede (Kzzon) who has since departed but Miziler steps in from Malaysia to try and guide KBM MXL xperteleven (74.157) to the most Golden of glories in Group E. Golden League average TTT score: 74.195.

The Final League has changed assertively recently, no longer do Swedes dominate the show and here we have Romania and Portugal both sharing honours. Raduccu and RAD United FCB (68.931) led the charge as Final League winners while Theacher joins the craze as Mirandela Gorilas (63.510) manager – winners of the Cup, they’ll be looking to progress from Groups F & C respectively. Final League average TTT score: 66.221.

The Xpert league’s been quiet success dry recently too but media-friendly DJ_Mourinho will be looking to end that with his B.S.R (54.172) team, the Xpert League champions however aren’t that strong on paper but are in Group F so who knows. Modest FC (55.440) join them, manager by... an Englishman! Yes James. Has the reins but besotted in a very tight Group A, they’ll do spectacularly well to qualify. Xpert League average TTT score: 54.806.

The Power is next and although I’ve joked about them before, they have a real chance of damaging the formbook this year. Want better news? Both managers are English! Ahhh yes the Power of England and Everton1977ace has been touted as England’s best hope to the XCL throne with his Club Buenos Aries (74.791) team, he’s joined by Soso_lucky and his Bad Habits (52.414) team. A manager from Essex and a manager from Cambridge, could one nation have such diverse cultures representing one thing? :P Groups D & C is where they emigrate from. Power League average TTT score: 63.603.

Another Sweden-England combination in the Hattrick. And a welcome return to the Hellmoppers (64.274) ladies and gentlemen, the hall of famers under new guidance from Gordons19, the Brit will be hoping to see the Hellmoppers return to former glories out of Group B. Barcelona of Sweden (58.313) are represented by Kautsky at this level though and in Group H they’ll have to have their wits about them to get to the next stage. Hattrick League average TTT score: 61.294.

A couple of firsts from the Classic League, Fianna fishermen (64.740) became the first team in a long while to complete a double there, winning both league and cup under now English manager, Dochawkes, they have a tough draw in Group A to contend with. Meanwhile despite only being beaten finalists, Wlodek_k becomes the first ever Polish manager to enter the XCL, terrific achievement with his PSG1 (71.139) side, whether he can progress from there in Group G remains to be seen but representing the most talkative league in the land, he’ll need to be good to keep them talking. Classic League average TTT score: 67.940.

The Master League have strong competition this year but you wouldn’t know it hearing Richardfenn’s doom and gloom. However he did arise to acclaim the League crown last season also from England, the tactical genius will look to that to hopefully bring about the crown jewels for the Master League with Huge Pythons (74.100) originally beginning in Group H. CCCP (78.808) wow they are every reporters dream and i hope Yuran has the decency to withhold his tag as XCL’s goal machine team, after winning the cup he’s back for more in this campaign. Master League average TTT score: 76.454.

Must be weird the Dream League not having PF Stratocasters/Guardian Angels to be representing them by but hopefully like the Master League after the Ballbreakers, they can breed some more good teams too. Gr8est Team (61.596) stole the Angels’ crown and from the looks of it look very tactically adept, Romanian Gr8Florin will need to reimburse those skills and channel them into this competition well to proceed from Group E. Their other representative do have XCL experience although Ricohs Roar (58.644) will want to do somewhat better than last time out, ÖSK manages them so yes another Swede, can they do it though? Dream League average TTT score: 60.120.

Our penultimate League is the Euro who helm in Groups A and B in this season’s competition. The A-team are conveniently in Group A, Magico Parma (80.038) who end up with the telling statistic of being the only side in XCL History to have played in at least one XCL tournament and have won no XCL’s despite recording no defeats, Semme_88 will be looking for more bite this time around. This is our third and last Sweden-England combination of the tournament with Gazfraz representing the British Isles with his Eagle Army FC (74.380) side again, coming so close to the final not so long ago, can his side repeat the magic this time around? Euro League average TTT score: 77.209.

And finally, the Champions and their guinea pigs. Well not really but the Champions are well rounded champions, Högsbo (83.706) finishing their job of winning the XCL with a League Title to celebrate too, can they retain their title? FC Vasaparken (76.878) join them in the big time, Vilmerito manages them so yes another Swede in the ‘International’ surprise surprise – they may as well have kept it as the ‘Xpert Swedes’ :P, these two fill the stopgaps in Groups D and B. Xpert International average TTT score: 80.292.

So the average TTT score in order of Xpert League’s from highest to lowest:

Xpert International – 80.292
Euro League – 77.209
Master League – 76.454
Golden League – 74.195
Ultimate League – 73.012
Major League – 71.109
Super League – 68.444
Classic League – 67.940
League of Champs – 67.590
Pro League – 67.146
Final League – 66.221
Xtreme League – 65.219
Power League – 63.603
Hattrick League – 61.294
Dream League – 60.120
Xpert League – 54.806

And in terms of Demography I will now input the average TTT score of every nation and how many managers represent each nation.

So without further ado now we have all the important statistics and odds let’s crack on with the opening day of XCL matches!

Group A

Magico Parma (80.038 – Semme_88) 1-0 Modest FC (55.440 – James.)

Tough start for Modest in their inaugural XCL competition if truth be told but Magic shouldn’t take this for granted, a no win here and that’d do their prospects of a winning run in this competition zippo good at all. Parma lined up with a healthy 442, any formation they could throw at Modest would surely beat them, Modest replied strongly with a 532 to try and eek out the draw. For large parts of the game they looked quite good to do so, scrapping away at the back to deny the hosts but Parma got the winner half an hour from the end, Maximiliano di Salvatore who was so good in last season’s XCL heading in from Nissim Baruh’s cross. Job done for Parma although they’d have liked to have done it by more, from a modest point of view it was quite a decent start for Modest, no dramas and feet placed firmly on the ground.

Lingering in many a people’s mind will have been Realgalacticos’ shoddy performance to kick off last season’s campaign with a defeat against Club Chichas and their manager lined them up with a 451 to stop anything similar happening again here. The fishermen went 442 themselves, a risky strategy against the galacticos who will have warmed to that midfield gain with gleeful smiles. Calvin Frogatt’s XCL campaign got off to a nightmare start, injured in four minutes and that injury seemed to shake the fishermen for the half, Leidur Kerme finally gave the galacticos the lead three minutes before the break. The fishermen were far more disciplined in the second half, playing with a real tenacity in the second half against their more illustrious opposition, but after a strong half where they had the more chances, they pressed the self-destruct button six minutes from time, Oskar Angerås headed home a deep corner and then Giles Brammer added insult to injury with a headed finish himself. Horrible start for the Englishmen then in this XCL but vive le Romanie, the Galacticos are off the mark early!

Woah-ho the first midfield scrap of the contest, 451 plays 352, Gazfraz going for the cautious option while SuperSprint decided to use the ‘Swedish Delight’ a.k.a. the 352. And what a start for the Pilots, SuperSprint’s superstars scored twice before half an hour had been played; Chanan Yerushalmi slipped Jukka-Pekka Öörni through on goal to knock the ball past the ‘keeper and Travassos was beaten again after Amadeo Gerard’s chipped finish. EAFC needed sorting out, they were semi finalists of this competition not so long ago lest we forget and Hector McKenna reduced the arrears midway through the half with a poked finish. But the Pilots held on resiliently to post their first points of the competition in their first ever game, an away game against a former semi finalist, major scalp and England’s opening day woes continue...

Twice Hall of Famers under manager datta, the Hellmoppers are back to revive a spirit reinvigorated back in the side upon Gordon’s appointment. Vasaparken are the Xpert international’s chicken little to me – oh well if Högsbo fail then there’s always Vasaparken. The home side went 451 here too; just how many 451’s will we see today? Well at least one more because Vasaparken contained the same formation. There was a very even start to this game surprisingly, Hellmoppers weren’t playing as dominantly as they were playing in the past and Vasaparken sensationally took the lead at the end of the half, Vilgot Hansen stabbing in from close range. The second half was completely controlled by the Hellmoppers, they swarmed over the Vasaparken goal... but Vasaparken stood firm, didn’t concede a goal and registered the three points – shock or what?! 4 English managers in 4 games and each one leaving with defeat, unlucky!

I wasn’t banking on England’s run stopping here, Bad Habits are facing their first ever XCL game and are on paper much weaker than the Gorilas, but the book doesn’t end there. The 451 hasn’t worked too great so far and the Gorilas went with it here while Habits opted for a 442, keeping things rigid all over the park. Bad habits do have a few bad habits, one seems to be giving away penalties and they gave one away in the first half hour of this game, one Carl-Gustaf Trygg slammed into the corner to make it 1-0. Gyula Antal’s second half injury put a bigger downer on things for Bad Habits and they conceded again ten minutes from time, another set piece – a freekick – and a goal from Kelsey Weatherall to make it two. For some reason Bad Habits became the first and probably only team to make four substitutions in an XCL game after making a further 3 subs in the second half, something which will surely interest the XCL authorities, but eleven subs wouldn’t change the scoreline in this one this afternoon, Rest of the World 5-0 England.

Strength vs Experience, would the Ghetto’s immense strength get them off to a flyer or could Llamedos edge this with group stage experience? A 532 for the Llamedos who looked quite content to play for a draw while Ghettostars played all their cards with the amazingly strong 352. And the Ghettostars dominated the game from start to finish, Finlay Tillery edging them ahead with a headed finish. Wilbur Crossley made it two in the second half with the Ghettos well on top at this stage and after Crossley was brought down in the area with ten minutes to play, Senpai Yoshida converted the penalty to make it 3-0. Us Brits and lulling our opponents into a false sense of security...

This represented England’s best chance of breaking the duct and Buenos Aries also went 451 to combat the 352 our Aussie friends deployed. Buenos Aries had full control in this game, only affording The Magic 2 chances in the whole game compared to nine of their own. Scored chances are the only ones we’re interested in though, Buddy Itz got one with a half-volley on 37 minutes and Steven Paine doubled the home side’s lead just before the end after a similar corner routine straight from the training ground. An intelligently coordinated victory means seventh time lucky for the Union Jack, panic stations over!

Högsbo United (83.706 – RDS) 3-0 Ricohs Roar (58.644 – ÖSK)

A match not involving an English coach, a battle of Sweden between these two warriors and nothing but a win would suffice for the Champions who will be under the cosh to repeat last season’s performances at this point of the competition. They actually had a fairly entertaining game by Ricohs Roar but just like last season, escaped with their superior shooting. Abbiati gave United the lead just before the break, captain Stu Preston used all six feet 4 of his frame to double it in the second half and Owen Aran applied the icing with an injury time goal. Great start for RDS’ men, a bitter body blow of a start for RR.

442 plays 451 again as the Dream league winners, the ones who dared dethrone the powerful Angels, drew swords with the Golden League Cup winners, KBM. This promised to be a tense affair and boy did we get it, a clash of swords and shields in fact with neither defence budging, neither attack deploying full power, an injury to each Vlad Tisiman of KBM and Paul Scholes of Gr8est Team – but crucially no goals and this non-classic ended in a stalemate, the first draw thus far of the XCL!

RIO (72.926 – Andyman90) 3-0 New Handyman II (73.009 – HKD)

Another 451 fest and just as we imagined it’d be a close affair, it was far from it. RIO played with the passion of winners while NH simply disintegrated in the faces of their opponents. The first half yielded no goals despite constant RIO pressure but they put that right in the second half, goals from Linus Rast and Gregor Ilworsky – both headers – gave RIO a two goal lead in the blink of a flash. Then after a cluster of substitutions, Rast made it two with a diving header in injury time to send RIO well clear at the top of Group E, great start for the Swedes!

Not much is expected of Feleacu in this competition given their obvious disadvantages but a bit more fight was expected than that they showed in the first half. Hermen Maurisz opened the scoring for the home side before Oscar Furberg hit a brace, one with his head and one a clipped finish to give United full control of this game. A much better performance was needed and supplied by Feleacu in the second half but it didn’t stop Vestlinder shooting home following a corner to make it 4-0. Rudi Barth briefly brought about a reduced volume in the stadium with a surprise headed goal but Vestlinder added his second before the game was out to complete the rout for United, not that the score was in any way indicative of the game’s content, Feleacu can be frustrated the scoreline reads 5-1 when in gameplay terms they were far closer.

Something tells me the Xpert League may struggle for success in this season’s competition and astoundingly they went 442 like FoF handing the advantage to FoF as far as I was aware. And it was an advantage FoF heeded, they were robbed of a win last season at this stage but after dominating this match similarly, they made sure they wouldn’t be left with egg on their faces after being mugged here, Thurston Stock scoring the only goal after good link-up work to get the Chesterfield fans glorious bunch a winning opening.

Group G

OnePiece (69.291 – Wiguel) 1-0 CCCP (78.808 – Yuran)

Oooh the intrigue, double-winning OnePiece against a side who love their goals, CCCP and have experience at this stage of the competition whereas OnePiece simply don’t. And OnePiece rebuffed their rise through the ranks to victory here; they went 352 while CCCP surprisingly sent all power to the back with a 532. It didn’t worry OnePiece who scored the game’s only goal after a quarter of an hour – Roronoa Zoro scoring a tap-in to give the hosts the lead. And that’s how it stayed until the end; they successfully warded off CCCP without even conceding a chance, super start for the Portuguese!

PSG1 (71.139 – Wlodek_k) 4-1 Cormorans F.C. (78.240 – Maurosenssimi)

TTT stats suggested a clash between two heavyweights but that idea was shunned as nonsense after PSG dribbled over Cormorans defence early in this game, scoring through first Mersad Alispahic and then Geovanni Giampà in the first half. After yet another mass substitution interlude, Jimi Elding gave Cormorans hope with a hurried finish on 72 minutes but this was diminished soon after, Roger Brahms scored an absolute cracker from distance before Freddie Crowe in amongst an substitution avalanche added a fourth goal to well and truly instate Poland as an XCL talent breeding home, great start for PSG, how will Cormorans pick themselves up from this?

Another 451, this time for Fenn who makes his debut in this competition with the Pythons against the lauded so-called Barcelona of Sweden. They weren’t very Swedish in the opening stages, playing a lavished 442 but disappointing on the main stage, Esteban Gordo had them on the rockers after just seven minutes with an insanely precise long range effort. Austin Crashaw scored from similar distance just after thirty minutes, although his was from a dead ball from a freekick and then more suspect defending in the Barcelona ranks led to Gordo being dragged to his knees and Goalkeeper Don Rowling was assuring enough to delicately place the ball in the corner for 0-3, a goal for a goalkeeper and three mighty points for the Pythons – vive le Britain!

Fitting that the last game in the opening day of group games would also be the most boring, last but not least except in this case? The home side went 352, the visitors 442, both safeguarded their goal with buzzing guard dog defenders with the clear instructions of snapping anyone’s leg that even threatens to test the goalkeeper. As such both defences were on top, both strikeforces lacked cunning and a draw ensued, not particularly the greatest advert for XCL Football.

So! The XCL is back with a bang (sort of)! Hopefully the quality will live up to the standard we’ve seen in the XCL in recent seasons but a great start to this season’s competition nonetheless, bring on the next few weeks.